The New {and improved} National War Museum

The National War Museum has moved from the old Drill Hall of lower Fort St Elmo to the actual Fort itself. The entrance ticket is valid for both which means that you can tour the fort while visiting the museum. Fort St Elmo played a crucial role during the siege of 1565. The Knights defended it to the last  man and, when it fell on June 23 1565, no defenders were left alive. But it cost the invading Turks many men and a lot of ammunition. I don’t know whether it was a coincidence or a strange twist of fate, but t he first casualties of World War 2 occurred at Fort St Elmo in June of 1940. Due to its long and varied history, Fort St Elmo deserves a post all to itself so I will leave that to another time.

The National War Museum houses a collection of items that date back to prehistoric times. The items are displayed in chronological order and span over four thousand years of history. There is a section dedicated to the Great Siege of 1565 but the biggest, and best, part of the museum is dedicated to the Second World War and the crucial role that  Malta played during those turbulent times.

The exhibits vary from anti-aircraft guns, period uniforms of the British forces and items made by German POWs to the Gloster Gladiator nicknamed ‘Faith’ that I had written about here, the George cross (Malta’s award for gallantry) and President Roosevelt’s jeep ‘Husky’. 

My favourite part of the exhibits was the hall dedicated to the SS Ohio and Operation Pedestal. Computer generated images projected onto the ground show the progress of the convoy of ships that left Gibraltar en route to Malta. It really puts into perspective the amount of men and ships that paid the ultimate price to save the island.

The new National War Museum is a vast improvement on the old one. There is ample space for all the exhibits, which are all clearly labelled, and information is readily available through photographic panels and audio visual presentations. It is definitely worth a visit.

The National War Museum, St. Elmo Place, Valletta VLT 1741

Opening Hours

Monday to Sunday: 09.00 - 17.00hrs
Last admission at 16.30hrs
Closed on 24, 25 & 31 December, 1 January & Good Friday

Churchill’s Cigar and Eisenhower’s Walking Stick

These are just two of the many artifacts that may be seen at the National War Museum in Valletta. Through its collection of personal memorabilia, original footage, digital displays and numerous photographic panels, the museum aims at highlighting the role that Malta played during the two World Wars with special focus on the second world war. Perhaps the most poignant items on display are the fuselage of the Gloster Gladiator “Faith” and remnants from the ships that formed part of Operation Pedestal – the convoy that saved Malta in 1942. The museum honours the fallen, salutes the heroes and provides a glimpse at what daily life in Malta was like during World War 2.

The National War Museum, Old Drill Hall, Lower Fort St Elmo, Spur Street, Valletta VLT 1741
Tel: +356 21 222 430

Opening hours: 

Monday to Sunday: 09.00 - 17.00hrs
Last admission at 16.30hrs
Closed on 24, 25 & 31 December, 1 January & Good Friday

 

Notwithstanding the high level of the exhibits, it is difficult to understand the complexity of this particular period in the island’s history just be visiting the museum. For those interested in learning more, here are a few recommendations:

More Places To Visit

- Lascaris War Rooms: an underground complex of tunnels and chambers that housed the War Headquarters and from where the defence of Malta was conducted during WW2.

- Malta at War  Museum: apart from the exhibits and the screening of an original wartime documentary ‘Malta G.C’, a visit to a war-time air-raid shelter is included.

Documentaries

On Discovery Channel: Heroes of Hell Island – The Men Who Saved Malta

A  National Geographic Production: World War 2: Battle for Malta

 

 

Books

                  

 

                     

Fiction

A Plane Called Faith

There were three of them, or so the legend goes, and they named them Faith, Hope and Charity. These are names of the three famous Gladiators that defended Malta during WW2. In reality there were at least 6 Gladiators together with a number of Hawker Hurricanes. The historical facts about that Malta Campaign may be found here.

That Malta was hard hit and severely bombed during the war, is a fact. That Hope and Charity were lost, is also a fact. Charity was shot down on 29 July 1940 and its pilot, F/O P.W.Hartley, was severely burned. Hope was destroyed in an air raid on 4 February 1941. Faith survived and is with us still. It was presented to the people of Malta in 1943. In 1974, Faith was restored by ENG Wing RAF Luqa. It now resides at the National War Museum.

It easy to see why a legend was born. This island was in a strategic position, almost right in the middle of the Mediterranean. It was an asset to the allies. So it was heavily bombed. These planes and their brave pilots defended Malta valiantly. Heroic feats were performed. I read that the names Faith, Hope and Charity only started to be used after the war was over. But I have always been told, by those that lived during those difficult years, that these names were given during the war, that Faith survived because it was the people’s faith which pulled them through.

‘Faith’ Gloster Gladiator N5520

Location: Malta National War Museum, Lower Fort St Elmo, Valletta

Opening hours: Monday to Sunday: 9.00-17.00

Last admission: 16.30

Closed: 24, 25 & 31 December, 1 January, Good Friday

Introducing … Bormla

On a rainy day, last February, we went for a walk in Bormla (also known as Cospicua) – one of the Three Cities. This town in Grand Harbour, hemmed in between Birgu and Isla, its more well-known neighbours, has had a colourful and often-tragic history.

Although it has been inhabited since pre-historic times, it also bore the brunt of Malta’s two major sieges. In 1565 it was decimated by the Turks. It was subsequently fortified by the Knights of the Order of St John and started to thrive when the Order used its creek as a berthing place to anchor and repair their ships. During the British years, the Royal Navy built their dockyard in the same spot. This created hundreds of jobs in the area and ushered in Bormla’s golden years.

Due to its proximity to the dockyard, Bormla was heavily bombarded by Axis airplanes during WW2 and many historic buildings were severely damaged or totally destroyed. The majority of the population took refuge in the countryside. After the war, the town rose again from the debris and the ashes but, in many cases, planning was erratic and many of the new buildings did not fit in well with the pre-war architecture that managed to survived.

These days Bormla looks a bit faded, a bit tired, as if it is still dreaming of its glory days. It needs a facelift, one that is not just cosmetic. It needs life to be injected back into it. Perhaps it needs to recapture the pride of its golden years and wipe out all the bad memories.

This harbour town is not what I would call pretty – at least not right now. It has some scars. And they run deep. There are definitely some social problems in the area and most of the population tends to focus on these negative points. I admit that this is not a place where I venture often. Indeed this is probably my first walk around this town since I was a young child. But I think that that is about to change.

It is high time that I explore this place a bit better, get to know it a bit more. Hopefully more of its buildings will be restored and renovated so that it will regain its former lustre. For the sake of our heritage I trust that this will happen sooner rather than later – before it is too late.

Photographed in the streets of Bormla

February 2012

The Breakwater Bridge

 

This is the new breakwater bridge. The first one was destroyed during an attack by Italian E-boats in July 1941. The E-boats did not manage to enter the harbour – the guns stationed at  Fort St Elmo and Fort Ricasoli (situated at either end of the harbour) made sure of this. During the attack, the bridge suffered considerable damage and was deemed unsafe. In October 2011 this new bridge, constructed in Spain, replaced the former structure. As yet, it is not accessible to the public.

 

The foundations of the breakwater were laid in 1903 but the history of the harbour goes back much further than that.

On a beautiful morning in mid-March we walked the winding part beneath Fort St Elmo in an attempt to get to the bridge. However we found the last part of the path to be blocked. It did not matter – we made plenty of other interesting discoveries on the way. Beautiful scenery,rusty gun posts,  the blue sea, wild flowers, fossils … it would have been perfect were it not for the crumbling fort above our heads. It makes me sigh, and hope, that one day, Fort St Elmo will be restored to its former glory. Its glorious past deserves nothing less.

Photographed at

St Elmo Point

Valletta

March 2012

X Miles To Nowhere (or Defaced Milestones)

Many visitors to these islands are intrigued when they see these defaced milestones. Some may wonder why these milestones have been defaced. It was not due to a thoughtless act of vandalism. These milestones were defaced during the last World War. During the worst of the war it was thought that an Axis invasion was imminent, so all existing milestones were defaced in the hope that any potential invaders would be confused as to their whereabouts. In some cases, even the name of the town was removed from the stone. Needless to say, in this day and age, such a precaution would be futile. These milestones still stand, serving as a reminder of a very different way of life.

Photographed at Fawwara

April 2011

Malta And The Movies (1)– Malta Story

This series of posts is inspired by Suze, writing at  Girl Wizard, who has been sharing some of her favourite movies with us. So I thought, why not a post about movies filmed in Malta? Although small, Malta has a number of interesting locations which have been used as the backdrop for a number of movies. You can go to Wikipedia for a full List of Films Shot In Malta. Every now and then over the next couple of months I will give you a brief overview of the ones which went on to become famous. Today I will start with the earliest movie shot in Malta which was Malta Story released in 1953.

Malta Story (1953) starring Alec Guinnes, Jack Hawkins and Muriel Pavlow is based on life in Malta during WW2, the island and its people and the RAF aviators who defended it with their lives. Although the acting is very much in 1950s style and the ending is quite predictable, this movie does give a good portrayal of what it was like to live in Malta during WW2 when daily air attacks were the order of the day and most of the population spent long hours in  underground shelters that were hewn out of the limestone all over  the island. This film was shot at various locations around the island including: the Lascaris War Rooms, Fort St Elmo, Grand Harbour, Valletta, Ta Qali and the Neolithic temples of Mnajdra.

 

A Kitchen Called Victory

The recent refurbishing of a shop-front in Valletta led to the discovery of the sign above. Victory Kitchens were opened by the Government at the height of WW2 to alleviate the suffering of the population by distributing free food. In 1942 there was a total of 42 Victory Kitchens in different towns and villages around the island. This particular sign had been painted over and forgotten for many years. It has now been restored and serves as a reminder of those bleak days when the world was at war.

Operation Pedestal

Malta today celebrates the feast of Santa Maria and with it, the 67th anniversary of Operation Pedestal or, as it is known amongst those old enough to remember it, the Santa Maria convoy.
In the summer of 1942 the war in Europe was at its peak and Malta had experienced its fair share of bombing. Hunger was rife and the island was in dire need of food, grain and oil. Two supply ships had made it to Malta in March 1942. However these were sunk in the harbour with only a fraction of the supplies unloaded. A further two supply ships arrived in June of 1942 with much-needed food. However no fuel oil made it through. In August of 1942 Malta was on the verge of surrender. Operation Pedestal was the final effort to supply the island with the supplies it so urgently needed. Fourteen merchant ships, two battleships (HMS Rodney and HMS Nelson), four aircraft carriers (HMS Eagle, HMS Victorious, HMS Indomitable, HMS Furious), seven cruisers and 33 destroyers set out from Britain entering the Straits of Gibraltar on the night of August 10-11. On August 15 the crippled American Merchant ship SS Ohio (on loan to Britain from the United States) entered Grand Harbour to cheering crowds, supported by the two destroyers Ledbury and Penn. You can go here for the timeline of their passage through the Mediterranean. In all nine merchantmen, one aircraft carrier (Eagle), two cruisers (Manchester and Cairo), and a destroyer (Foresight) were sunk by the Axis accompanied by the loss of 400 men.

The food and fuel brought in by the convoy sustained the island, although its siege was not yet at an end. The ultimate result of Operation Pedestal was that it ensured that Malta stayed in the war. Tacticians say that this helped shift the balance of the war in North Africa just prior to the second battle of El Alamein. Operation Pedestal was the subject of a 1953 black and white British film, Malta Story, which interspersed archive footage of the SS Ohio with scripted studio scenes.

The damage sustained by the Ohio from Stuka bombers was too great for it to be repaired. In 1946, after the war was over, it was towed 10 miles off the coast of Malta and sunk by naval guns. A sad end for a ship with so much history but, perhaps, if it had a choice it would want to lie on the bottom of the sea, close to the island to which it brought so much more than food and fuel.

Sixty seven years later the only bombs that shatter the silence are the petards let off for the feasts of Santa Maria held in 5 villages in Malta and another 2 on the neighbouring island of Gozo. Those who are old enough to remember this event still talk about it with awe and gratitude. Most of the younger generation prefers to ignore the importance of this feat. The rest only vaguely remember it from history class at school. I suppose it is hard to expect today’s generation to be interested in great depth about events which took place so long before they were born. But I was brought up on stories of the war and when the British forces were still in Malta my dad would take me to Grand Harbour to see the aircraft carriers and the battleships and to tell me stories about the war. I was very young at the time, but the names of the Ohio, the Eagle, the Indomitable and the rest still send shivers up my spine - for I am able to acknowledge what they, and their crew of brave men, were able to do that August of so long ago.